What Are Zombie Cells, and Could They Be the Answer to Slowing Down Aging?
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It’s a fact of life: If you’re lucky enough, you will get older and, with that, your body will show signs of aging. Research has been ongoing to try to determine what, exactly, is behind this process and scientists have largely linked the aging process with one biological factor: Senescent cells, aka zombie cells.
A recent study published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology specifically links zombie cells to age-related diseases like cancer, dementia, and heart disease, and breaks down how these cells develop.
The study found the oxidative damage (damage that happens as a result of an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants in your body) to telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes, can spark the formation of zombie cells.
This isn’t the only research on zombie cells: Scientists have been analyzing these cells and their role in aging for years.
If you’ve never heard of zombie cells before, fair. But, of course, you probably have some—or a lot of—questions about what these are and what role they play in aging. Here’s a breakdown.
What are zombie cells?
It’s important to quickly recap how cells in your body work. There is a process called mitosis, which is a fundamental process for life, where a cell duplicates all of its contents and splits to form two identical cells, Medline Plus explains. When mitosis isn’t regulated correctly, you can develop health problems like cancer.
Zombie cells, aka senescent cells, are cells that stop dividing, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). When you’re younger, your immune system spots these cells and eliminates them from your body, Sabrina Barata, M.D., a primary care doctor at Mercy Personal Physicians, explains. But, as you get older, your immune system doesn’t have as large of a capacity to do this.
What do zombie cells do?
Zombie cells simply stick around in your body. “They don’t die—they become resistant to death,” says researcher Paul Robbins, Ph.D., associate director of the Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism and the Medical Discovery Team on the Biology of Aging at the University of Minnesota. “They stay in your body forever.”
These cells release certain molecules that can spark inflammation and even harm other cells, Dr. Robbins says. They’ve also been linked to the growth of cancerous cells, per the NIH.
However, Dr. Robbins says, senescence is seen as an anti-cancer mechanism because it stops cells that may have become abnormal from continuing to replicate.
Does everyone have zombie cells?
“I would hypothesize that yes, everyone has these cells,” Dr. Robbins says. “Your burden of cells increases with age and older people or people with chronic diseases may have more.”
Cells stop dividing after they’ve divided so many times or acquire so many mutations that they’re at risk of becoming abnormal or potentially making you sick, the NIH says.
How are zombie cells related to aging?
Zombie cells become more common as people age. “Your immune system gets rid of these cells when you’re young but, when you get older, it can’t clear them as effectively,” Dr. Robbins says. Research has found that tinkering with these cells can help extend life—in mice, at least.
Landmark research from Jan van Deursen, Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic actually removed zombie cells from living mice. Van Deursen and his team discovered that injecting a certain drug triggered the death of these zombie cells.
In follow-up research, the team found that treating mice to remove zombie cells extended their median lifespans by 17% to 42%, depending on the mice’s sex, diet, and genetic background. The mice that were treated also usually looked healthier than those that weren’t treated and were more likely to have spontaneous activity and explore things—signs of youth.
Could studying zombie cells be the key to living a longer life?
That’s what doctors think right now. “If we understand why senescent cells happen and how to reverse them, we have the ability to have healthier aging with less debility,” says Santosh Kesari, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., and regional medical director for the Research Clinical Institute of Providence Southern Calif.
Dr. Robbins points out that zombie cells are “interconnected” with other “things that go wrong as we age.” Those include things like dysfunction in your stem cells, changes in metabolism, and dysfunction of your mitochondria, which generate energy to power your cells, he says.
“If one of these things are affected, the others are, too,” Dr. Robbins says. “They’re all linked.” Meaning, if you can target and wipe out zombie cells, your metabolism and energy may improve, he says.
Dr. Barata says that studying these cells can “absolutely” help lead to advances in healthy aging. “If we can find a way to kill off these cells, they won’t accumulate in the body,” she says. “That will protect us from diseases like dementia, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease.”
Currently, research is ongoing to study the impact of targeting zombie cells and certain diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, osteoarthritis, and diabetes. “We will know their impact quickly—within in a few years,” Dr. Robbins says
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